"I'm surprised that you kept them."
Su opened the fastenings on the box, revealing a sheaf of papers. "They were the only contact I had with my son. Of course I kept them."
The top of the pile was still white and crisp, a heavy sheet of cardstock emblazoned with the Earth Empire sigil and their future monogram beneath. The expensive ink was still so dark it almost looked wet, Baatar's light engineer's scrawl a thready stripe in the salutation. "This one must be from the Mo Ce Sea checkpoint," Kuvira said, tracing her fingers over a slight distortion in the page. "Water damage, but the ink hasn't bled."
"That was the last time he wrote us," Su said, nodding. "Junior sent a photograph as well, but I shredded it."
"I'm not surprised." She set the letter aside, face down, and continued on through the sheaf. Sifting through the letters was like going back in time. The next letter was printed on stationary from an old Earth Kingdom fort in Garsai, the next on kitschy stationery featuring "The Blind Bandit" of Gaoling. "We visited Grandmother's old estate," she read slowly, under her breath. "Kuvira insists it was to give the troops a day off while we attended to infrastructure, but I'm sure this was selfishly motivated. We were unsurprisingly able to strike up a business deal with the Earthen Fire Refinery in short order-"
"He sent photographs with that one too," Su said, a bit of a smile at the corners of her mouth. "I kept those."
Kuvira turned over the page, only to find a letter written on cheap post office stationary from Senlin Province. "Not here, clearly."
"Yes, they're with the rest of the family photos," Su said. "There was a picture of him with the statue of my mother. I've never seen him so happy."
"He took a picture of me with her statue as well," Kuvira said, feeling a blush creep over her neck. "That must still be with our accounting logs, or maybe with the album on the train." She pulled out the next letter and then the next, smiling as she felt a torrent of memories as she re-lived their three-year military campaign, glancing through letters from the mag-lev written their own Earth Empire cardstock, letters on cheap scraps of recycled newsprint from seaport villages, letters from Ba Sing Se written on Earth Kingdom gift-shop stationery, letters written on sheets torn from Baatar's grid paper notebooks, and finally letters on the paper they had packed with them from Zaofu, beginning to yellow with age. She couldn't help but notice that the creases and corners were nearly worn away, the ink streaked and bleeding in places- perhaps proof that Su and Baatar Sr. had read them countless times, tracing the words with desperate fingers, perhaps proof that tears had been spilled.
"I wish I had saved the first one that he sent," Su said, her voice almost wistful. "I was so enraged that I burned it without reading. My husband was so upset with me, because he had no way to write back. He was convinced we'd lost him then."
"I'd never have let anything happen to him... as hard as that might be to believe." That oldest letter was long, consisting of three double-sided pages, an eclectic mix of trepidation, boastful aspirations, and insecurities. It was a letter she had urged Baatar to write, after weeks without a response from his family, a letter so deeply personal that she felt she had no right to read it, even after Su had delivered it into her hands.
"We wrote back after that, of course," Su continued. "I think a part of me hoped that he would come to his senses and come home, if we kept trying with him. For his father, I think he hoped the time apart would let Junior feel like a bit more like his own person. We often discussed whether or not we brought this on ourselves."
Kuvira resisted the urge to reply in the affirmative, reminding herself that much of her own plight was self-inflicted as well. "He sometimes would say he owed at least a third of his talent to his father teaching him physics from such a young age. Sometimes he even wanted to call home and collaborate, when he'd get stuck- of course you understand why he ultimately didn't."
"More than me, I think, Baatar was heartbroken," Su agreed. "I don't think Junior realized how proud his father was, seeing what he'd accomplished."
An awkward silence settled over the two of them, heavy with apologies and accusations for a different time. Kuvira set about putting the letters back in order, filing them away into the box and catching snippets as she did. Went to meet with Raiko and the United Council today-
-had an idea for a new alloy formulation-
-we are re-designing the metal armor into something more streamlined, look for news on patent acceptance soon-
Omashu welcomed our protection today. Might get to meet with investors later-
We spent the weekend at the Fort Bosco in Si Wong to let the troops regroup-
-how are the twins doing?
-haven't heard from Opal in some time, send me her new posting-
We'll be traveling to the Western Seaport to meet with the naval officers, so mail your reply to their Mo Ce offices-
Mother will be upset with me, but I think Kuvira would say yes if I asked-
"Why did you bring these to me?" she said at last, shutting the box and clicking the locks in place. "Why did you visit me at all?"
"We haven't been fair to each other, Kuvira." Su reached for the box, tracing her fingers over its hinges. "I know you blame me for a great deal. Maybe some of it is warranted. I blame you for even more. Maybe some of it... isn't warranted." She tried to smile, failed, and carried on. "Avatar Korra has been trying to get your plea bargain amended, on the basis of good behavior and a need for skilled metalbending labor. You could be re-assigned to one of Omashu's provinces bordering Zaofu, if she's successful. She seems confident."
"Meaning?"
"Your new location would be under my provincial jurisdiction," Su said carefully. "Korra didn't know if you'd want that. She asked me to check, so she'd know whether or not to close the deal."
"I don't mind at all, Su," Kuvira said, "and I really don't see why it matters. I go where I'm assigned-"
"Junior is still under house arrest, as you know," Su said curtly. "If you were under my jurisdiction, I'd facilitate your meeting with him. You understand of course that you will be disarmed, chi-blocked, and escorted in by my guard, fully restrained. He still wants to see you. If, of course, you'd want that."
She closed her eyes, blinking hard as she swallowed, willing herself not to let tears fall in her frustration as she processed this new revelation. He wants to see you. "Why didn't he write back, then?"
Su's voice came surprisingly gentle. "I don't know. I was surprised too. To be honest, I wouldn't have visited if I didn't know he still misses you. I think it would do him some good."
She opened her eyes, sighing in a heavy exhale. "I'll go wherever I'm assigned. Please thank the Avatar for her continued work on my case and convey to her my gratitude and best wishes."
"Your lawyer will send a wire once everything is finalized," Su said. "What should I tell my son?"
"There's nothing I can say," Kuvira said softly. "Is he well?"
"You'll know for yourself," Su said, drawing her chair back and rising, taking the box of letters. "I'm sure we'll be seeing each other again."
As the door swung shut behind her, Kuvira looked down at the envelope Su had left behind. It had a slick, clean white finish, unmarked with a sender's address. As she slit the envelope and shook out its contents, she felt the corners of her mouth twitch upwards and a sudden tightness in her throat. My darling Kuvira, it read.
The light, thready scrawl was unmistakable.
A/N: day 1 for Baavira week, will see if I do more seeing as I haven't actually banked any stories and I'm in the middle of exams lmao. stay tuned maybe?
